GeeVee Rajahmundry

Friday, January 26, 2018

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

COM N M SUNDARAM, WHO REDEFINED THE ROLE OF TRADE UNION, IS NO MORE.

Com N M Sundaram, the doyen of working class movement including insurance employees’ movement left this mundane world at 8.30 am on 26 December 2017. He was 80 years old. He had held organizational position spanning more than 35 years including Zonal Secretary of South Zone. As the General Secretary and then President of All India Insurance Employees Association (AIIEA), he not only spearheaded various successful struggles to improve the service conditions of Indian insurance employees but inspired members to work for vulnerable sections of society. His contribution to Pension battle is praiseworthy.He redefined the role of trade union by not just confining it to wage hike as many think but inspiring employees to work hard in office for growth, prosperity of own industry and fight on street for betterment of society. His innovative idea of “people for India forum” created platform that helped insurance employees to discuss, deliberate problems of masses with other eminent persons of society. He was a towering personality. He was highly talented, eloquent speaker and powerful writer. He had written many articles in insurance worker also some books. He had delivered many speeches and had participated in debate, discussion with many eminent persons of society. He was also editor of “Insurance worker” the monthly journal of AIIEA, the quality of article published in it is equivalent with any important journal/magazine of India. His editorial and column titled “Let us play politics” was very thought provoking and highly didactic.

Com. NM Sundaram has passed into history!

Com. NMS is no more. Yes, from this 26th December, 2017 he is no more with us. He has passed into history; he has become a proud part of it.

It is difficult to pen a few lines on NMS when it does call for million such. As for me, it is all the more difficult to write about him without emotional overload. I have been with him in the movement through struggles and campaign, and through personal interactions. Having been in close personal association with him for about half-a-century – 47 years to be exact from October 2017 when I met Com. Saroj and Com. NMS for the first time in my life. I had the privilege of being their personal attendant during their stay in the Government Tourist Home at Madurai. I stayed with them for 2 days. I could hardly control my emotions - the tears rolling down my cheeks - whle penning these few words. However, I would make an honest attempt.

Com. NMS will ever be remembered by the insurance employees for whatever he had done for them during his stewardship in many capacities within the AIIEA. He led the insurance employees into a social movement inculcating in them a culture of concern for others – a social sense much beyond matters mundane. He would take take up issues of creature comforts of the insurance employees but would not stop at that as the end of it all. He would never acquiesce to AIIEA being dubbed as nothing beyond a “bread and butter’ organisation – as often quoted by NMS himself. He would always say, “Charity no doubt begins at home; in no case it should end at home.” This has been his continuous refrain on every conceivable occasion.

Overriding all other contributions, two things – the massive campaign and struggle against privatisation of the insurance industry, and the fight for pension – stand out and take a shine to Com. NMS.

The insurance industry – especially LIC is a hundred percent state owned public sector organisation despite a quarter-century rolling by since the Malhotra panel recommendations for the 50% sell off of the LIC and GIC. Attempts are now being made to tinker with the character of the public sector General insurance corporations; similar attempts may be made against LIC too in the future. AIIEA no doubt continues its fight against privatisation following in the steps of Com. NMS who projected the issue of privatisation as an assault on the Indian economy and the people of India. National public opinion was created precisely based on this understanding by the insurance employees under the tutelage of Com. NMS. And it is the heat and pressure of this public opinion on the powers that be that has kept us in good stead till date.

The achievement of Pension is yet another signal contribution of Com. NMS that makes the insurance employees remember him for ever with due gratitude. His succesful interaction with the officials of the finance ministry led to the inclusion of a clause in the pension scheme of the insurance employees. It is a unique feature not available to any funded pension scheme. It enjoins upon the managements to compensate for the additional cost of pension payments - over and above the contributions of the employees - from out of their revenue account.

On every issue he mooted, he – of course along with the rest of the leadership - took the entire organisation collectively with him. Not only did he provide the logic to the demands but also the logistics for their implementation.

Everyone knows about the fund of knowledge, wisdom and rich experience in his possession. Much has been said about him on this score on many occasions by many, and I would not dilate upon it further. But his greatness lies not only in his ability to teach but in his readiness to learn from others unhesitataingly as well. The accompanying humility he evinced on such occasions was quite brilliant.

And it is these and other sterling qualities of Com. NMS that made him a leader par excellence.

The AIIEA began its eventful journey way back in July 1951.
Since then it has moved on for over six decades now. The journey has not only
been long, it has also been arduous. The AIIEA nonetheless weathered the storm that
came its way and moved on, and in fact has been moving on undeterred,
uninhibited, undaunted, intrepid and indomitable. In spite of being long and
arduous, the journey has been exhilarating without an iota of doubt. Looking at
the chequered history of this organisation, one feels tempted at times to indulge
in a sense of megalomania. Often times we would say – ours is a Great organisation!
A common refrain of many of our comrades is – AIIEA is a unique organisation!
Our comrades are fond of saying with justifiable pride that AIIEA knows no defeats;
victory after victory in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds is its hallmark!

AIIEA is indeed great and unique.
AIIEA is not a mere bread and butter organisation. Born in the immediate
aftermath of India’s independence from colonial rule, its focus has always
remained on the larger issues of the country and the people. Its arena of
struggle has always been larger than the confines of the insurance industry.
AIIEA is great and unique because of this vision.

The stalwart of insurance employees’
movement Com.N.M.Sundaram would often say “AIIEA is the name of that perennial
stream which constantly irrigates your consciousness”. A constant effort has
always been made to broaden the horizon of understanding of insurance
employees. Insurance employees have been constantly told right from the birth
of AIIEA that no lasting solution could be found to their problems or for any
other sections of the working people within the confines of the present rotten
and decadent society. Whatever little relief one gets is only temporary and
transient. A permanent andlasting solution to the problems of
the working people can only be found by changing the exploitative order of the
society. AIIEA has always implored insurance employees to contribute in
whatever measure they can to the struggle for social change apart from their own
struggle to secure and protect their own rights. A deep rooted social commitment
and indomitable spirit for struggle are probably the basic elements of AIIEA’s
vision.

Concrete Analysis of Concrete
Situations’

With an abiding commitment to the philosophy
of the working class AIIEA has an uncanny knack of foreseeing events, an
ability to look into the future, an ability to see the dangers on the horizon
before they strike at our roots, analyse the upcoming challenges dispassionately
in all their social, political and economic ramifications and then evolve the correct
tactical line to jump onto struggle. The AIIEA is adept at making correct
political and ideological decisions and then framing its response accordingly.
This again is possible because of the correct understanding of the class
character of the government and proper drawing of lessons from ground realities.
To be precise, this is possible because of AIIEA’s ‘concrete analysis of
concrete situations’. In the words of Com. N.M. Sundaram, “As AIIEA looks at
the sky, it does not allow its feet to slip”. This is the beauty of the AIIEA’s
vision.

Trade unions can be either Reformist
or Revolutionary. A reformist trade union only believes in the status quo –
accept things as they are, there is no hope of any change. They succumb to the
campaign of the ruling classes that there is no alternative to the present system
and hence any attempt to change the system would be futile and fruitless. These
trade unions therefore confine themselves only to the immediate issues; they do
not have any long-term vision.

AIIEA on the other hand is a
Revolutionary trade union because it believes in the revolutionary potential of
the working class. While fighting for the immediate issues of the employees
like wage, service conditions, transfer, increment, LTC etc. AIIEA also imparts
a long-term vision to its cadres. AIIEA has immense faith in the capacity of
human beings to bring about change in the society. Invoking Rabindranath
Tagore, the legendary leader of insurance employees’ movement Com. Saroj
Chaudhuri had said: “It is a sin to lose faith in man. It is the man who has created
all the wealth of civilisation. All the brilliant edifice that we see around
the world is the human creation and creativity…..The common man, the toiling
man in the mine, the toiling man in the field, the toiling man in the farm, the
man in the factory, the toiling man everywhere, the man depressed, the man
hungry, the man unemployed, in them all there is fire burning and one day that
fire shall take the form of conflagration…please today understand that we must
reinforce our conviction, we must reinforce our faith in our future.” This is
exactly what AIIEA believes in – reinforcing our faith in our future.

This supreme faith in the future and capacity
of human beings to struggle have propelled AIIEA to undertake difficult tasks and
emerge victorious even in the face of most challenging odds. Or else, how could
a trade union with a limited membership aspire to challenge the ruling classes
of the times and demand nationalisation of life insurance and eventually
succeed in the struggle? Had it not been the supreme faith in the ultimate victory
of the working class, the AIIEA perhaps would not have fought and won serious
battles in the last sixty years of its glorious existence. Whether it was the
struggle against automation in the sixties or the struggle in the dark days of the
Emergency in the seventies or the struggle to fight out lock outs of six
divisions or the struggle against the ill motivated moves to split LIC in the
eighties, the uncompromising struggle for over two decades beginning in the nineties
to protect insurance industry in the public sector or the innumerable struggles
to secure brilliant wage increases to insurance employees have all borne the
unmistakable imprint of AIIEA’s faith in the future and the revolutionary
potential of the working class.

Being Political

AIIEA’s firm conviction in the
ideology of the working class has been its greatest strength. At the same time
this has been the biggest eyesore for its detractors. AIIEA is accused of being
political. Yes, AIIEA believes in being political in the interest of the poor, the
downtrodden, the suffering people, in the interest of the economy, society and
the people at large. AIIEA believes in the politics of questioning the present
exploitative order of the society. AIIEA is accused of being political because
it dares to challenge and question the ruling classes. The ruling classes and
their apologists want unquestioning adherence to the principles laid down by
them. What about those who unquestioningly lap up whatever the ruling classes
say? They do not have any problem with privatisation of insurance, they do not
have any problem with job losses, they do not have any problem with the hire
and fire policy of the government, they do not have any problem even if the
entire range of public services are thrown open for private profit, they do not
have any problem if some young boys and girls are killed in broad day light for
the sin of falling in love and they do not have any problem if some innocent
person is killed merely because of his food habits.

AIIEA believes that this is the worst
kind of politics, the politics of being apolitical, the politics of remaining
mute spectators when your industry, jobs, society..everything is being torn
apart. This is the politics of connivance with the class enemies. Had AIIEA not
believed in class struggle and indulged in the pro people politics that has
been its hallmark, insurance industry and insurance employees perhaps would not
be in a position that they are in today.

Trade Union Rights are the Children
of Democratic Rights

Of no less significance is AIIEA’s
contribution to the deepening and broadening of democracy and democratic values
in India. AIIEA has always been clear in its understanding that in spite of the
tall talk of constitutional rights, fundamental rights and civil liberties enshrined
in the Constitution, establishing true democracy is a difficult task. No right
is a right if it is not put to use. Rights can never be rights by merely
inserting them in the pages of statute books. AIIEA has always been of the
opinion that trade union rights are the children of democratic rights; it is
difficult to enjoy trade union rights without protecting democratic rights in
the first place.

It is common knowledge, borne out of experience,
that the policies followed by the government will never permit building up of a
democratic society in the real sense of the term. Once the ruling classes feel
that people have started exercising their democratic rights in the real sense
of the term, they will pounce upon the people for some reason or the other. This
conviction of AIIEA got strengthened during the dark days of the Emergency as also
during the time of the semi fascist terror in West Bengal in the seventies. The
AIIEA therefore has made constant endeavour to struggle and expand the
democratic rights in the course of its struggle. The political education that
the AIIEA imparted to its cadres has been an exemplary blending of theory and practice.
In the course of this political praxis, thousands of cadres of the AIIEA have
courted numerous sacrifices and faced many a trial and tribulation.

Commitment to Secularism and
Pluralism

An essential ingredient of this vision
has been AIIEA’s unflinching commitment to secularism and the pluralism of Indian
society. Born as it was in the aftermath of
India’s independence and witness as it did the gruesome killings and
mayhem that followed the partition of the country, AIIEA always believed that
secularism is the bedrock of Indian polity. Today the communal virus is being
injected to the body politic like never before. This has vitiated the
atmosphere everywhere. History teaches us that majority communalism breeds
fascism while minority communalism breeds separatism and even terrorism.
Unfortunately today a false sense of patriotism, bordering on jingoism, is
being propagated. How can one claim to be a patriot even when selling our
precious national assets at throwaway prices? How can a patriot think of
protecting the integrity of India while disrupting the unity of Indians? We
must make them realise that unity and integrity of the country are not mutually
exclusive; these two are integral parts. We have to work ceaselessly to drive
home the point that to defend the integrity of India, unity of the people is a
basic precondition.

AIIEA’s vision is clear as far as the
caste question is concerned. It is a pity that the caste divide not only exists
even after seven decades of independence, but all attempts are being made to
perpetuate the system still further. The neo liberals of the economic field have
no compunction in being utterly illiberal in the social field. AIIEA believes
that there is no alternative to integrating the struggle against class
exploitation with the struggle against caste oppression. The greatest virtue of
AIIEA lies in the fact that it not only talks the talk but also walks the talk.
Our comrades in Tamil Nadu have shown us the way ahead by joining the struggles
against caste oppression in a big way; the Tamil Nadu untouchability eradication
Front is doing a commendable work there. The Ambedkar Study centres in many
parts of South and South Central zone are reflective of our units’ direct
intervention on the caste question.

The AIIEA has learnt with humility
that it alone cannot bring about any radical change in the society howsoever
pious its intentions might be. There has to be a concerted effort by all
sections of the working people. There has to be a broader unity of the people.
But this unity cannot come merely by preaching others. AIIEA is conscious of
the fact that numerically we are a small trade union. There is no reason why
bigger unions would listen to our sanctimonious talks on the virtues of unity
and united struggles. The AIIEA therefore advises its cadres to do something more
important and more powerful than mere preaching so that others will sit up and
take note of us. That powerful and effective weapon is ‘our own struggle’.
AIIEA is dear not only to insurance employees but to a large cross section of
people and people’s organisations because rather than preaching we believe in setting
our own examples for others to see, appreciate and join the vortex of struggle.
We therefore never shy away from humanitarian interventions in times of natural
calamities and other trying times.

The AIIEA is therefore not a mere trade union of
insurance employees. It has a vision for the people of India at large. How
beautifully late Com. Saroj Chaudhury had spoken about the vision of AIIEA! To
quote his immortal words: “AIIEA believes that at the end of the road lies our cherished society
where the kids would not beg to stuff their stomachs, the women would not sell
their bodies, the father would not desert his children and where the horizon of
life would be painted with thousand rainbows and where the children would laugh
and play, the men will work, the women will hum and the life will be like the
petals of the morning rose wet with dews glittering in the first rays of the
rising sun”.

The AIIEA is not a mere trade union of insurance employees. It has a vision for the people of India at large. AIIEA’s firm
conviction in the ideology of the working class has been its greatest strength. At the same time this has been the biggest eyesore for its
detractors. AIIEA is accused of being political. Yes, AIIEA believes in
being political in the interest of the poor, the downtrodden, the suffering
people, in the interest of the economy, society and the people at large. AIIEA believes in the politics of questioning the present
exploitative order of the society.